If I understood the article correctly the bride and groom left their event to see her, not the other way around. And they were evidently thrilled to see her. She neither tried to, nor did, upstage the bride.

"a U.S. Marine and his new bride enjoying their wedding reception in the Pappas Room asked to get some pictures. The newlyweds now had another reason to grin from ear to ear as they were overheard saying “we’ll never forget that Sarah Palin came to our wedding”.

Per the article, Palin was in one area and the wedding party was in another. I'm sure you've all been in restaurants with similar semi-separate function halls. The couple sought her out, not the other way around. No foul. No bad etiquette.

"Did they have much choice? How could the bride have expressed unhappiness in this situation?"

Again, it appears they left their party in a back room and came out to see Palin. And Palin has never struck me as the type of person who would barge in on a wedding party. Hillary sure. Barry definitely. Palin, I don't see it. Maybe she did, but that's not what the article says.

So, yes, I'd say they had a choice.

Seriously, the guy is a US Marine. I doubt you could find many who wouldn't be thrilled to see her. And that includes the wife of one.

I don't see how it would mar "her day", but I do see how it would make it far more memorable for their guests, and I think all couples want that. I assume the woman was just as pleased as she sounds, and that she wouldn't have left her wedding reception to hit the chicken wing counter for just anyone.

If thinking deeply means reading things into the article that are not there, I guess I could come up with a dozen possible senarios.

So, yeah, if Palin had without invitation entered the back room where a private bridal party was being held for a photo op that would have been a violation of etiquette. It also would have been politically stupid.

But I don't see Palin as either rude enough to do it nor, at this stage in her political career, stupid enough to do it.

"It makes the reception that much more memorable (in a good way) for the guests, which flatters the bride."

Well, that's kind of my theory of weddings, which is why I didn't want one. If it's all about making the guests have a great time and not a boring time like all those other weddings... save your effort and money...

I think people who put on weddings are thinking about making the bride a fabulous center of attention. If another woman upstages her... it's not what that was about.

Is that the memory the woman was hoping to lock into her permanent memory?

In the phrase "It's her day," the "her" isn't supposed to be a politician that shows up for a photo op.

*************

It was, by the way and don't forget, the reception. They left their reception and asked Palin for pictures. Palin didn't crash the damn wedding demanding the focus be on her. Palin went to a fairly famous local eatery to get some of the fairly famous chicken fingers and chat with some locals. That's hardly showing up for a goddam photo op. Then, while she was waiting for her food, she was accosted by a young Marine and his wife all agog and agibber that Sarah Fucking Palin was there.

"She went into the main part. The Marine and his bride were in a private room quite a ways away. They came to greet her and ask her for pictures."

I'm picturing the guests getting wind of Sarah's presence and scampering away from the wedding to get a look. That's stage 1. The bride is upset by that and the people around her try to make the lemons into lemonade or whatever.

"I'm picturing the guests getting wind of Sarah's presence and scampering away from the wedding to get a look. That's stage 1. The bride is upset by that and the people around her try to make the lemons into lemonade or whatever."

I give up. She was probably pissed. So pissed I imagine it's a wonder she didn't ask her Marine husband to snap Palin's neck like a chicken finger.

A couple of days ago Palin wore dark glasses and an extra shirt and a hat pulled low to run a half marathon. It's not like she's some sort of messianic figure traveling across the country in a giant black armored bus with a 40 vehicle motorcade!

Yes, she went there to get chicken and talk to people. But I don't believe she sent her advance people in to drag the Marine and his bride out to see her.

I ask you again: have you ever been to the Puritan? The Marine and his bride had to actually leave their private room. It's not like they were just at a table in the back.

I don't see how famous people can avoid all possible places where a wedding reception might be occurring. So you can't blame Palin for being near a wedding reception, or for the reaction of people at the venue.

(The Uncredentialed, Crypto Jew)I will say that IF Palin gets in and gets the nod, Althouse will NOT be voting for her? Someone said it best, “She sticks your craw.” Palin just sticks in Althouse’s craw and so the Althouse demographic is a write-off for Palin in 2012, that’s for sure….

Let’s try one more tack here, Althouse, IF the bride were upset, don’t you think she could have found a sympathetic blogger/journalist upon which she could unload her “ire?” After all it’s not like people who hate Palin aren’t a dime-a-dozen.

Is that the memory the woman was hoping to lock into her permanent memory?

There are a lot worse memories that happen at wedding receptions to lock into your memory. (Your bridesmaid or best man passing out or falling down drunk for one. Embarrassing fighting between the in-laws.)

Perhaps they didn't vote for Obambi (unlike some people who refuse to admit that they made a terrible mistake) and they were THRILLED to see someone who represents their viewpoint and presents real hope for freedom and a change in our oppressive government. Or they were just happy to see a celebrity that they admire in their general vicinity.

If Obama came to MY wedding, or any other event in my life, THAT would certainly be a horrific memory.

It isn't like Palin said. "Hey, here is a wedding. Let's crash it!!!". It was more like. "I'm getting something to eat and there happened to be a wedding nearby and they wanted me to take a photo with them. You betcha."

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, and presume that you were misled into "thinking deeply" by the term "Back Room." Like CEO-MMP, I've actually been in that restaurant. It started out as an ice-cream & burgers place. After a while they added an enclosed seating area at the back of the place. This area, called the "Back Room," is actually the place where the general public goes to sit down and eat. It is not a fancy place.

It's clear from the article that there were lots of other people in the Back Room at the time, none of whom was there for the wedding. The Pappas Room is completely separate.

Also, it's located on a major highway and has a large parking lot, so it provides easy in-and-out for someone who gets a craving for a snack in the middle of a busy day.

School must have started up again. Your're "thinking deeply" like a silly academic instead of a hardheaded blogger.

Famous people should just stay home. If we want to see them we can turn on the TV. Fame has lost them the right to come and go as they please.

Or public places could have a neon sign in front, maybe a star inside a circle with a diagonal line across it. If anyone in the building is having a birthday, anniversary, wedding party, or any personal celebration, the sign would light up. This will let all the famous people know not to go in and upstage someone else's life.

Maybe we could put all the famous people in cages like at the zoo. They need to learn their place.

The article could not be clearer: Palin went to a restaurant, had no reason to know there was a wedding going on in a private room, and responded graciously and appropriately when the bride and groom sought her out.

Are your lame defenses of your original post in these comments are not up to your usual high standards. Please do the right thing and admit your dislike of Palin got the better of your judgment.

Palin is the good fairy to Cinderella. Plays into wedding mythology. As she continually draws political strength from matrimonial bonds (ie "never thought I'd want a divorce" in Iowa). The wedding bit came alongside widespread video of her hugging a very effeminate man. Reconciliation.

A lot of brides might fit the description you give of an immature, spoiled brat who wants all the attention on herself, no matter what. They're known around here as "Bridezillas," and while I do think young girls are encouraged to think this way by the wedding industry, I don't think most fall into that trap, once they become women. Not the ones with any hope of having a lasting marriage, anyway.

It also sounds to me like you might have a particular aversion to Bridezillas (hence your own low-key, deeply personal and private marriage). But you seem to assume Bridezillas are the norm rather the exception, and thus you are here both rejecting them, and accusing Sarah Palin (a political "Bridezilla" herself, perhaps?) of having the temerity to run afoul of one at the same time. Knocking down two distasteful female types at the same time: A two-fer! SCORE!

I think I can see the connection; but I'm not buying it, based on the article, and the obvious delight of the bride. I think drawing the conclusion you do seems more snarky than insightful.

"I did not misread the article. The things you're pointing out were completely taken into account. I am challenging you to think more deeply."

Oh for fuck's sake Ann quit trying to OVERTHINK everything. The answer is staring you right in the face. If you didn't reside in academia you would be forced to jettison so much of what you imagine is "deep thinking" and cut to the chase. That is the same deep thinking that allows you to imagine Obama is normal but proves to a person with normally functioning cognitive facilities that you are a classic example of the over-educated fool.

Also, since pictures of the couple with Sarah Palin were probably photographed by SarahPac's wonderful official photographer, Shealah Craighead, I bet they get a nice autographed photo with a signed inscription by the Governor.

In the pix at that link, the Palins look better-dressed than most of the other guests at that wedding.

What? That wasn't the wedding party? That was a bunch of men in shorts and the like chowing down at a casual-dining joint? You mean to say that the bride and groom just barged in there like they owned the place and demanded a photo op?

In the phrase "It's her day," the "her" isn't supposed to be a politician that shows up for a photo op.

When the happy couple invite family and friends to come celebrate with them, the family and friends are guests at the wedding. The bride and groom, in entertaining their guests, are to make it a great day for the guests. It is nice for guests to make it a great day for the bridal couple, but the onus is on the bride and groom to make it a great day for their guests.

We need to get rid of the "It's my/our day" mentality. It makes for some really nasty wedding stories.

I was happy when my neighbor--whom I did not expect to come--attending my wedding. His being there made my day, and still lights up my memories of that day.

Oh, shame, Ann. It's not like she crashed the wedding. The Marine and his wife approached her, from what I read, and she 'put down her waffle,' so to speak, and obliged them. There's some as would have whined about it

He is a Marine, so of course they are thrilled. Palin respects our military and loves America, and I am sure this couple would prefer her to be his CIC than Obama who holds nothing but contempt for our armed services.

OK, I've thought more deeply about this. Althouse is right. Here's how this plays out:

1. Palin enters restaurant for snack.

2. Excitement spreads among crowd in state where it is well known she has no chance of winning primary. Obvious plants.

3. Bride and groom leave their wedding reception to see what the hubbub's about. See Palin. Decide to cut their losses and score an autographed photo with her. These are quite rare, and likely to appreciate rapidly in value after she's trounced in the primaries.

4. Ann Althouse, the famous blogger, is the only person in America to figure out what really happened. Everyone else is duped by the fake smiles of the newlyweds.

Did they have much choice? How could the bride have expressed unhappiness in this situation?

9/6/11 9:04 AM

Ann Althouse said...I did not misread the article. The things you're pointing out were completely taken into account. I am challenging you to think more deeply.

9/6/11 9:05 AM

Yeah Ann. You are thinking deeply...as in bottom dragging. How could the bride express displeasure? How about by opening her mouth and saying so? Did Sarah show up wearing a white gown or something? Yes you can be gracious and still express your feelings on your wedding day. My guess is Sarah Palin showing up at this wedding was like Johnny Fontaine showing up at the wedding in the Godfather. A coup for the bride, not an over shaddowing.

Are you suggesting that if they were displeased, they would not have hesitated to say: "Sarah Palin crashed our wedding!"

They sought her out and were thrilled by it (because they like Sarah Palin). Obviously if they did not like her, then things would have been different.

To add insult to injury earlier that day Palin ran a half marathon in Iowa anonymously, finishing with a time of 1:46, second in her age group. She also ran faster than all the women in the age group below except one. She placed fifth overall among women of any age.

All this shows Ann is Sarah Palin can never win. She is always wrong. But ask yourself, if Barack and Michelle Obama showed up at that restaurant and the bride and groom did the same thing for them...would you have written the same post?

My guess is you whould not have, but I am challenging you to think deeply.

Actually he was not, but my best man did look sort of like Kurt Russell. Then he bedded two of the bridesmaids. And they knew about each other but both wanted him. He was coming off a divorce and feeling depressed so it perked him up. So he had a good time.

The real victim is Sheila Beermann, who drove all the way from Elk Point, SD to hopefully place first or second in the half marathon. Due to the unexpected entry of "Sarah Heath", poor sheila is relegated to a shameful third place in her age division.

Ah it's JoeJoe, the Small Pathetic Kissingerite. Dissent bothers you doesn't it little man. For that matter, you're too crass and irrational to understand satire.

Palin's another flagwaver. Why, stand in front of harleys, with flags and marines/vets, a few hotties--and.... she's Prez material! Not. Then, that's a bit too profound for a little shyster like you to understand isn't it JoeJoe.

Okay, I'm going to challenge the professor to think a little more deeply, too.

How is a momentary photo-op able to upstage an entire wedding? How is it not still the bride's day? It's not like Palin got on the wedding table and did the watusi. She'll be in maybe one photo in the inevitable photo album, and it will be an interesting anecdote for the grandkids, nothing else.

See, this is the kind of crazy Palin criticism that drives some of us up the wall.

(The Uncredentialed, Crypto Jew)The Small Pathetic Voice might want to check out and see if anyone truly cares about its opinion…I believe its blog has NO comments (unless you count the ONE I randomly placed there), which would seem to imply that no one really cares what it thinks or says…I believe that is what drives the small voice to Althouse’s Big Front Porch so it can scream, “LOOK AT ME”

Althouse, dear, Go to the bathroom and purge. Quick! Quick! Quick! Get that kool-aid out of your system.

I'm thinking deeply about this. I'm thinking ahead. Next thing to happen is that you and Palin will be standing in a garden. Palin will say, "Let's find shelter. That looks like a nasty thundercloud heading our way."

A punk shoves Althouse off her bike and starts to peddle off. Palin, running the same path, tackles the thief. Althouse, laying there bleeding, screams, "Palin, you attention hog! You knocked my water bottle out of its holder."

Even if the bride were a self-absorbed twit she would have the satisfaction of knowing that it is unlikely that a famous person will show up at her friends' wedding receptions. (It's not about having the perfect wedding/reception, it's about having one that is better than your friends'.)

When a friend or family member gets married, you know whose reception will get mentioned every time. It's almost as good as having your wedding dance video go viral.

"Think more deeply" = come up with a plausible scenario where it would be true that the bride was upstaged.

So:

The news spreads throughout the restaurant that Palin is there. The marine groom hears and is all "Oh boy, let's go meet her and get a picture!!" The bride is feeling pretty miffed that her new husband is even able to THINK about another woman during their wedding reception. Recognizing that it would be counterproductive to make a scene just then, she deploys the same social expertise which got her to the altar in the first place and "enthusiastically" agrees. The poor groom won't find out how badly he screwed up until he is reminded on their first anniversary, and second, and third ....

Ann, come on, all your 'picturings' would be thrown out of any court as assuming facts not in evidence, let alone a John Edwards level of channeling. We get you don't like Palin but we can watch Bill Maherfor this...

Someday the history of how and why the Republican Party, once the party of sane fiscal policy and non intervention, decided to tack to the far right and become the party of the wacko, will be written and I am sure a whole chapter will be devoted to the fascination so many have for this no talent, intellectually challenged, loud mouthed whack job. I know she drives the Left nuts, because even they are amazed that anyone, even on the Right, would take her seriously but really? This idiot? LOL Good luck running her for anything folks.

Pragmatist wrote: "...the fascination so many have for this no talent, intellectually challenged, loud mouthed whack job. I know she drives the Left nuts, because even they are amazed that anyone, even on the Right, would take her seriously but really? This idiot? "

Obviously @Althouse has bought into the Bridezilla reality tv show version of the wedding and the brides out of control narcissim that reflects today's society.

Personally, I'm hoping we're raising young women that have a better sense of themselves and what makes their marriage commitment significant beyond a surprise celebrity/politician showing up, the most expensive dress or food.

The young women I'm talking about are cut from Sarah Palin's cloth, they are the highest number of women in congress today and they define themselves outside of the box.

I've had the pleasure of spending some very brief time with Sarah Palin and seeing her in person reacting to those around her. She would be the first person to embrace that young bride and lift her up...not being of the progressive left's eat our own sister variety. Sarah is secure in herself and she passes that on to everyone around her. That's why so many common folk love her...she's not put herself on a pedastal.

As word of her appearance spread throughout the restaurant, a U.S. Marine and his new bride enjoying their wedding reception in the Pappas Room asked to get some pictures. The newlyweds now had another reason to grin from ear to ear as they were overheard saying “we’ll never forget that Sarah Palin came to our wedding”.